My Struggle With Social Media

First of all, and this has nothing to do with the title of this post, it was 4° and sunny as I left the house this morning.

I recently read Ten Arguments for Deleting Your Social Media Accounts Right Now by Jaron Lanier. I am aware I am the product when it comes to using the internet. Google provides, for free, access to good email, a wonderful GPS service on my phone, a way to share files with others and this platform where I can write whatever I want. Facebook allows me to follow friends and organizations that I care about. Also, if I want to be "part of the conversation" I have to be on at least one of the social media platforms. 

The cost? They get information about me that they can sell to advertisers. Advertisers then target ads that they think will appeal to me based on where I go, what I post and what I like. 

I find, for me, the advantages that Google and Facebook give to me outweigh the costs. So, I am not going to delete my Google or Facebook accounts. 

One of his 10 reasons did strike a nerve with me: social media turns people into assholes. I've been guilty of this myself. I've posted poorly thought-out material; I've shared posts that turned out to be false; I've made snarky, unnecessary comments when my buttons have been pushed (all too easy to do). I'll try to get better.